Manatees, dolphins and pelicans continue to die in a Florida estuary and the cause of death is still unknown. Based on the time-span and severity of the ongoing deaths, experts are beginning to wonder if the whole estuary is collapsing. Unfortunately, there’s a whole lot of evidence to support this idea, beginning with unprecedented algae blooms in 2011 and 2012 and continuing with a shift from a sea grass-dominated community to one dominated by macroalgae.

The Nuclear Regulatory Authority warned that the barrier built to contain the radioactive groundwater at the Fukushima nuclear plant has already been breached. They note that the amount of contaminated water entering the Pacific Ocean could rapidly increase. The only solution to this problem is to pump water out of the area, but the water will still be dangerous and therefore needs to be properly stored, but the more than 1,000 giant holding tanks around the plant are already full.

A new report from the National Ocean Service reveals that the 28 National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERR) in the United States are suffering from human and climate-related stressors. The NERRs are located across the U.S. in order to provide researchers with an accurate idea of how climate change is affecting the nation. The report found that the primary stressors were toxic pollutants, storm impacts, invasive species, habitat fragmentation, sedimentation and shoreline erosion–mostly due to residential development, population growth and sea-level rise.

About the Author

About the Author: Emily Tripp is the Publisher and Editor of MarineScienceToday.com. She holds marine science and biology degrees from the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a Master of Advanced Studies degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. When she's not writing about marine science, she's probably running around outside or playing with her dog. More from this author.

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